Sydney FC 3 Jeonbuk Motors 2
An epic journey through suburban Sydney preceded an epic journey through the quarter finals for Sydney FC in the Asian Champions League 2 at Allianz Stadium. A quite unbelievable first hour that could have seen Sydney FC four goals down was turned on its head by a scrappy goal by Alex Grant, and once Patryk Klimala had got his goal, a penalty from Douglas Costa was the icing on the cake to turn a disastrous defeat into a majestic victory. With A-League secret agent Valere Germain having done his best work to ensure Singapore’s Lion City Sailors await in the semi-final, the future is bright as we head into the A-League finals run in.
Everyone has had a story of a mammoth journey to get to the football, but a good hour should be enough to get me door to door in Sydney for a home game. A journey that started on the light rail to Parramatta saw the tram come to a halt at a mysterious station Tramway Avenue and we were advised to get off and walk if we had somewhere to be. Boiling hot and sweating, the final 15 minutes to Parramatta station was almost done when the tram caught up to me. There was no-one to let me through the gate at Parra station, free transport included in the ticket deal, and when I finally found someone, they had no idea there was a game on. Fair enough, this is Wanderers territory after all. An express train that seemed like a throw-back in time took me to Central, where another light rail trip made the journey up to Moore Park in a couple of minutes. This already felt like an epic evening, and Michelle was held up at work and subsequently in traffic and was running late.
A high tempo AFL training session was happening on the field next to Moore Park, Driver Avenue was open and there was a camp Yorkshireman with a megaphone warning people to be careful as they crossed the road, the football crowd used to having the road to themselves on game day. Surely a sign of a meagre crowd to come, there were only two gates open, and I made sure I took the label off my water bottle to avoid any nonsense at our usual gate, Gate 3.
An ACL2 game has a very strange vibe. There’s something quirky yet unwelcoming about it, and it was evident today. An exuberant RSA marshal at the bar, perhaps lacking spacial awareness, was slightly over-eager, almost bowling people over while keeping the line moving at speed, and I headed up to my seat with my extortionate Stone and Wood to see who was around. Luckily the Prof was there, no others from our area taking advantage of the same seat deal. A group of people behind were moved on by the ACL2 ticket police, or it may have been to do with the labels on their bottles, no one will ever know, but they were definitely made to disappear. Like I say, a very odd feeling coming into these games, like Big Brother is watching at all times.
We were close to kick off, but the stadium was virtually empty, the early kick off very difficult to manoeuvre for a lot of fans, and the Cove made sure everyone came to the centre of Bay 23 to let them at least make an atmosphere for this crucially important game. The players appeared to no fanfare at all, it was a little disconcerting that they came out almost unnoticed. At least we were spared daytime fireworks, but the music was loud. Sydney had a very strong team; being 2-0 up from the away leg meant that we could relax, in theory, but Ufuk Talay had a sixth sense and played his strongest eleven.
Both teams were up for this, Joe Lolley testing the keeper after a short corner had seemed wasted, and when Klimala was set free by Anthony Caceres up the far end, he was looking for options that were not there. A quick step inside and he slammed a shot over the Jeonbuk keeper and Sydney FC were ahead. We all looked at the assistant referee, no flag, what a start! There were no replays on the big screens, the players assembled at half way, there was no suggestion that the goal was being checked. All of a sudden, after a lengthy wait to kick off, the game was immediately stopped. The score changed back to 0-0 and the game went on, everyone bemused at what had just happened.
Jordan Courtney-Perkins was having one of those games where every touch goes wrong, it happens, and Jeonbuk seemed to be concentrating their play as a result down their right. At one point we had two balls on the field as Sydney went to take a throw-in. All the players looked at each other as if to say ‘well, I’m not getting it’ and the ball crew had to run on to remove the second ball, no doubt against AFC regulations and sending the match commissioner into meltdown. Sydney went behind on the night when a cute ball was played in to the attacker on the right of the area. His control was sublime and he fed the ball into the incoming players, it was difficult to see which player was going to hit it, but it stayed hit and Harrison Devenish-Meares was beaten by the power. Lolley standing with his hand in the air for the offside instead of tracking his man was particularly disappointing, and the goalscorer appeared to get a whack from a teammate in celebration and was left doubled over in pain.
Devenish-Meares then pulled off a brave save to push a header past the post with a South Korean player looming, a world-class stop to keep Sydney in the lead, but the visitors continued to camp upfield. A rasping shot from Nana Boateng, who had sat so quietly during Gus Poyet’s pre-match press conference rant, seemed to hit the post, the assistant awarding a corner. Comical defending from the corner saw not a single Sydney player react and go to the ball, Courtney-Perkins so far away from the header, so it was no surprise when the free shot rebounded to the only player who was alert and Jeonbuk Motors had the equalising goal on aggregate. It was just before half time, the whistle blew as soon as we kicked off, and this cup tie was now on a knife edge.
A strange night was just about to get stranger. The Cove restarted the second half with silent capos and the crowd choosing their own chant, Rhyan Grant telegraphed a pass and slick passing saw the Jeonbuk striker through on goal; it looked nailed on a third as the striker shot, but somehow Devenish-Meares deflected the ball away for a corner with his legs. What an escape. The South Korean number 97 then flopped to the ground looking to stop the game, but the officious middle eastern referee waved play on. Boos rang out as the player leapt to his feet and sprinted back into play – a yellow card would have been appropriate for that disappointing act of play-acting.
Sydney FC then scored. And what a scrappy goal it was. Costa’s expert free kick from the right arrowed all the way to the back post where Rhyan Grant let the ball hit him, and it rebounded into the path of fellow central defender Alex Grant, who gleefully stuck out a leg and steered the ball into the net in front of the Cove. Relief all round, it was akin to the Covid grand final nipple goal, it didn’t matter how it went in, we just needed the goal. Sydney FC were looking a lot more likely to score the next one now, and the game opened up with Costa showing the way like he did at Macarthur. His silky skill gave his team the chance to work an opening for Klimala, who dinked the ball out of a tackle wth his right and finished with his left, doing the superman shirt rip in front of the Cove who had gone completely bonkers. This was a conntinental night to remember.
Sydney had a corner, the referee lectured the players once more about pushing and holding, so Klimala went to take a drink fron the goalkeeper’s drink bottle. He took a swig then poured the rest of the water onto the ground, shithousery he must have learned from teammate Andew Redmayne. The Cove did the SFC chant that everyone loves. Instead of going into the lo-lo part of the chant, the capo mixed it up and went into the na-na-na-na chant. Like a DJ remix, you had to be here to experience it. Costa was at his devilish best, his ability to stop dead and then feint past his player was something that frustrated his opponents no end, and it was a surprise that he was still on the field given that the tie was seemingly over. When Adrian Segecic was brought down for a stonewall penalty on the edge of the area by the impressive Boateng, Jaiden Kucharski appeared to be heading to the penalty spot to claim the kick, but it was Costa who took it. The stuttering run up and the devastating finish sent us into ecstacy again, and we now knew that the game was over as a contest.
There was time for Jeonbuk to give Devenish-Meares some work to do, and a cheeky chip from a free-kick inside their own half almost caught the Sydney shot stopper in no man’s land, but he was able to field it with a sublime chest-down and jogged away with the ball as if there was no danger at all. Leo Sena antagonised the visiting players, teasing his opponent into a stupid challenge on the byline as he showed his mean streak. The big screen, which had shown 0.25 second clips of replays all night, including the almost over-lapping lines for Klimala’s offside, now showed the Jeonbuk fans’ anguish, unhappy faces eliciting jeers from the Sydney faithful. A paltry 7,000 people were here tonight, but they had enjoyed one of the most exciting conclusions to a two-legged tie.
The players wasted no time coming to the Cove to celebrate, the SFC chant again filled the stadum as the players joined in. The team then posed for a photo, Mariners-style, or even Australia Cup style, in front of the Cove and Devenish-Meares, unsung hero for the night, led the crowd through the call and response Come On You Boys In Blue. Awesome scenes. This had been a fabulous spectacle for those who had made the effort to be here. The in-stadium experience had not been the best – no replays, kept in the dark about VAR, and forever the spectre of big brother looking at your every move. In fact Michelle, who arrived a little late, was even later after being turned away from Gate 3 – the gate I had gone through – and forced to run back to Gate 1 to enter the stadium.
Outside the stadium, the Jeonbuk fans assembled on Driver Avenue and seemed stunned. Some had flown over especially for the game and were exhausted after an emotional rollercoaster of an evening. We headed to the Entertainment Quarter to pick up the car and headed back to the far north western suburbs of Sydney, rolling into the driveway just before 11pm.
What a superb evening. What could well have been another ignominious AFC experience, turned into a Haarlem Globetroters style party, and everyone who was at Allianz Stadium tonight will remember this night fondly. Wellington Phoenix weekend coming up – get excited! Forza Sydney FC.
The never ending basins were giving me Severance vibes 😂